Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher angered many by claiming the rise in LGBTQ+ young people is because queer identities are now "trendy."
Maher made the claim on his show Real Time with Bill Maher after citing a Gallup poll showing a stark increase in self-identified LGBTQ+ people in younger generations than older ones, as well as in different parts of the country.
Maher made little mention of the recent stark rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes nor the open hostility toward LGBTQ+ people and transgender people in particular in many parts of the country that both run counter to his "trendiness" claims.
Maher's claims have angered many, including panelists on his show who appeared uncomfortable and offended by his comments during the segment.
See the segment below.
In his comments, Maher acknowledged a more accepting society is surely part of the rise in self-identified LGBTQ+ people too, but also chalked it up to simple popularity.
"Yes, part of the rise in LGBT numbers is from people feeling free enough to tell it to a pollster and that’s all to the good, but some of it is — it’s trendy."
Maher then went on to cite regional differences in the number of transgender children as further evidence of his claim.
"If you attend a small dinner party of typically very liberal, upper-income Angelenos, it is not uncommon to hear parents who each have a trans kid having a conversation about that.
"What are the odds of that happening in Youngstown, Ohio?"
Maher then came so close to getting the real reason.
“If this spike in trans children is all natural, why is it regional? Either Ohio is shaming them or California is creating them."
It's probably more to do with the latter--places like Ohio where the political and legislative climates are hostile toward LGBTQ+ people have never been meccas of LGBTQ+ people for as long as modern out-and-proud LGBTQ+ people have existed.
This is why Los Angeles has been known as an LGBTQ+ mecca since at least the 1970s and Youngstown, Ohio never has. And it's almost certainly part of why there are so many more LGBTQ+ young people in LA than in Ohio. It's not that complicated.
Regardless, Maher insisted that "trendiness" is the real determining factor.
"It’s like that day we suddenly all needed bottled water all the time."
"If we can admit that in certain enclaves there is some level of trendiness to the idea of being anything other than straight, then this is not a serious science-based discussion."
Okay then, Dr. Bill Maher, PhD.
On Twitter, many people were enraged by Maher's comments.
https://twitter.com/JinkiesJerrica/status/1528114704815493120?s=20&t=Z9hYphRwoMZz5M3VdNxhkQ
"Why are more people getting abortions in California than Mississippi? Must be because liberals have made getting abortions trendy on social media." -- Bill Maher next year.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) May 23, 2022
Bill Maher said kids are coming out as trans because it's “trendy.” Yes, what child doesn’t want to feel trapped in their body, told they’re mentally ill, have their parents arrested for supporting them, and possibly be killed by a bigot who Republicans then start a GoFundMe for?
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) May 21, 2022
if you look at bill maher's twitter account all his tweets are flops for an account his size except when talking about trans kids. he only started dunking on them because it's the easiest path to relevancy since it's trendy. incredibly pathetic behavior on display from this man
— keffals (@keffals) May 22, 2022
If Bill Maher is right & kids' only reason to come out as trans is because they're seeking attention & they think it's “trendy,” I want to know when he is getting his operation b/c we all know what an attention whore he is.
— GeeGee (@GeeGeeAkili) May 23, 2022
People like Bill Maher who claim to be libertarians and then do a ten minute monologue about why kids shouldn’t be allowed to transition bc it’s ‘unscientific’ & ‘trendy’ are some of the dumbest people alive
— The Cosmist Insurrection, Inc. ™ (@yungneocon) May 21, 2022
1/ Reasonable people can have concerns on trans issues. Had conversation with friend yesterday who found phrase “birthing people” dehumanizing. Reasonable.
But for Bill Maher to frame trans children as “trendy” while states are banning trans healthcare? It’s just transphobia.
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) May 21, 2022
Bill Maher said that people are choosing to be Trans, because #LGTBQ is not trendy enough! Really? With all the Right Wing violent homophobes out there with their hate and murdering Trans people. Just the message we dont need to hear heading into #PrideMonth. Maher needs to STFU!
— Dan "I Stand With Ukraine" P (@ddanpereira) May 21, 2022
Being transgender isn’t “trendy” & neither is being transphobic, Bill pic.twitter.com/9LFKVXxZWC
— Tara Dublin 🇺🇦🌻 (@taradublinrocks) May 21, 2022
Maybe Bill Maher should have transgender youth on his show to tell them they're feeling suicidal & on anti-depressants to be trendy. @StatusCoup spoke w/ LGBTQ+ FL teens.
"We're being persecuted—why would we want to be something that's gonna be gone after by everyone around us?" pic.twitter.com/0OhUmfHhcy
— Jordan (@JordanChariton) May 21, 2022
I was bullied into presenting as cis for decades--to the point that i wanted to die for years--but Bill Maher doesn't seem to give a shit about *that* social pressure. Only the imagined social pressure of transitioning being "trendy."
— mega them (@AmITooRemoved) May 21, 2022
The February Gallup poll Maher cited in his segment showed a rise to 7.1% of the U.S. population self-identifying as LGBTQ+, a percentage has doubled over the past 10 years.
